Architect David Marlatt, AIA, and his team have shared plans to restore and redesign San Francisco's currently-closed Clay Theater on Fillmore Street and an empty Panhandle Park mansion; the latter will add family sized units to the city's housing stock.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Clay Theater – The Clay theater was built in 1913 in the heart of the vibrant Fillmore neighborhood. Its long story as a single-screen movie theater came to an end in January 2020 when, after years of changes in the film industry and movie-watching trends, the doors closed for good. The 4,400 square foot space was granted landmark status in 2021 but remains closed and vacant today. DNM Architecture was enlisted by the building owner, Balgobind Jaiswal, to rehabilitate the building and bring the space back to the community as a new business with a familiar façade in the bustling Fillmore area.
DNM's design will fully restore the building's exterior and marquee with only minor changes to replace the storefront and add a display window. The building's interior will be beautifully restored, including the original plaster molding and proscenium arch; it will also feature updates like a new level floor (built over and thus preserving the original sloped flooring) and toilets. The theater's lobby and auditorium spaces will remain intact while new openings will be inserted into the partition separating the two spaces to provide the openness and transparency needed for retailers. Finally, the building will be fully brought up to current California and San Francisco codes with energy systems and infrastructure upgrades.
"The Clay Theater is historic for its cultural ties to the community and deserves to be restored and re-opened as a viable local business," says Marlatt. "We are excited to give it the attention and care it deserves and needs to bring it into the 21st century. We hope our full restoration will turn the empty building into a vibrant retail space in the Fillmore neighborhood."
"Successful buildings are not only a link to our past, but vibrant contributors to their communities today" states Mr. Jaiswal, "It is everyone's interest that this building be restored and re-opened with an economically sustainable use, so that it again contributes to the vibrancy and health of the local community. We're glad to be working with DNM Architecture on this slow but necessary process."
The Clunie House – DNM Architecture's second announced project is at 301 Lyon Street bordering Panhandle Park and near the entrance to Golden Gate Park. The historic landmark Clunie House was designed by famed architect William Curlett in 1897. Granted Historic Landmark status in 1981, the building has a very storied 125-year history: originally built as a single-family home at the end of the 19th century, it was converted to five units in the 1950s, turned into 12 units in the 1960s, and then back into a single-family home in the 1970s. In 1983, the house was entitled as a 12-room Bed & Breakfast, and according to records, the last time the building was altered was under the ownership of Westmont College at the turn of the 21st century, used for student housing.
Los Angeles based housing management company and developer, Tripalink, purchased the building in 2021 and enlisted DNM Architecture to give the historic landmark building a badly needed refresher and a new purpose.
The new design plans call for an extensive refreshing and restoration of the exterior, including removal of an unsightly fire escape, and a total reformatting of the interior into three separate luxury condominiums. Each planned unit encompasses two floors of living in clean, unapologetically contemporary spaces that reflect current tastes and lifestyles of the area with generous, modern kitchens and baths. Units will average 2,300 square feet and provide 10 bedrooms total across the three dwellings. Finally, the building will be brought up to current California and San Francisco codes with energy systems and infrastructure upgrades. The ideal homeowners are families seeking convenient city living in modern luxury.
"Tripalink is excited to work on another new housing project in the San Francisco Bay Area with DNM Architecture," says Y. Tyler Wang, Project Manager at Tripalink. "David Marlatt's designs capture and embody the contemporary living we envision for our buyers and tenants. His building designs fit perfectly in their neighborhoods, and he helps us bring positive housing solutions to the community."
"Being asked to work with Tripalink on converting a historic landmark building is a challenge and a thrill," says Marlatt. "Our vision is to faithfully restore the iconic exterior for the neighborhood while completely modernizing the interiors for future families to live comfortably in such a fantastic location."
About DNM Architecture: Founded in 1999 by architect David Marlatt, DNM Architecture has built a reputation for designing LEED and Green Point Rated homes that are built with sustainable, energy-efficient materials and methods that reduce the energy required to construct and operate the dwellings. Residential work is the foundation of this Bay Area architecture firm's practice, but their experience includes other rehabilitation projects such as the conversion of the San Francisco Academy of Music into a new campus of the Lycee Francais de San Francisco.
About Tripalink: Founded in 2016, Tripalink is a technology-driven residential brand specializing in multifamily development and property management. It delivers a high-quality, affordable, and modernized living experience through attentive services and an all-in-one technology platform that centers around the customer.
Media Contact
Ken Shallcross, Modern Architecture + Design Society, 7188840689, [email protected]
SOURCE Modern Architecture + Design Society
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